How to Share Your Tequila Experiences With Friends Without Sounding Pretentious

Somewhere along the way, tequila got a reputation problem. 🍹

For a lot of people, tequila conversations either feel intimidating or painfully performative. You’ve probably met someone who talks about tequila like they’re giving a lecture instead of enjoying a drink with friends. And honestly? That can make people shut down before they even take a sip.

But we’ve found the opposite is also true: tequila can be one of the easiest and most fun ways to connect with people when you approach it with curiosity instead of ego.

Because at the end of the day, most people don’t actually hate tequila.

They hate bad tequila. 🙂

Recently, we attended a retirement party for a friend who is a big bourbon guy. We brought him a special bottle of El Tesoro aged in Basil Hayden barrels because we knew he’d appreciate the crossover between bourbon and tequila. Over time, we’d already been introducing he and his wife to smoother, more approachable tequilas whenever we went out together, so this felt like a natural extension of that.

We also brought a bottle of Gran Coramino for ourselves and to share with the group throughout the night. What started as casual pours and conversations slowly turned into a mini tequila tasting around the party. People started asking questions. They compared what they were tasting. Some admitted they hadn’t had tequila in years because of bad college experiences.

By the end of the night, the bottle was gone.

And more importantly, several people realized they didn’t actually dislike tequila, they just had never experienced good tequila before.

That’s really the key to sharing tequila without coming across as pretentious: make it feel welcoming.

Talk About What You Enjoy. Don’t Talk About What They “Should” Enjoy!

One thing we try very hard not to do is push people into drinking tequila the way we drink tequila.

Instead, we simply talk about what we enjoy and why we enjoy it.

We’ve found that enthusiasm is contagious when there’s no pressure attached to it.

People are naturally more open when they don’t feel judged or corrected. If someone loves a sweet cocktail or a familiar tequila brand, that’s okay. Conversations become a lot more enjoyable when we approach them with curiosity instead of trying to prove we know more.

In fact, some of our favorite conversations happen when we ask other people what they’re drinking.

Recently at La Jolla, we were sitting next to a woman with a beautiful bright pink martini-style cocktail. We asked her what it was, and she told us it was a cosmopolitan. Then she asked what we were drinking.

“Tequila soda,” obviously.

That led to us talking about the idea of a “Cosmo-rita” and how good it would probably taste with the Corazón Añejo they carry there. Suddenly the conversation wasn’t about expertise at all — it was just two people sharing ideas and drinks they enjoyed.

That’s the kind of energy people respond to.

Make Tequila Feel Approachable

A lot of people associate tequila with harsh shots and rough mornings. So when we introduce someone to tequila for the first time, we try to remove that expectation immediately.

One of our favorite recommendations is simple:
a tall glass of soda water with one shot of tequila.

That’s it.

It gives people room to actually taste the tequila without feeling overwhelmed. The flavors come through more naturally, and it turns tequila into something you can sip and enjoy over time instead of something that feels like punishment.

For many people, that completely changes their perception of tequila.

Personal Taste Is Personal

One of the most interesting things about tequila is how differently people experience it.

It never surprises us when someone says they don’t like tequila because honestly, we used to feel the same way. Once we started learning more about quality tequila and trying different expressions, everything changed.

What does surprise us sometimes is when people strongly prefer blancos over aged tequilas. But that’s usually because they enjoy them in mixed drinks or as shots, and that lighter, brighter profile works better for what they enjoy.

And that’s the point: there’s no “correct” tequila preference.

The goal isn’t to convince everyone to drink tequila exactly the way we do. The goal is helping people discover what they enjoy.

The Best Tequila Conversations Don’t Feel Like Lessons

We think the difference between sharing tequila enthusiastically and sounding pretentious comes down to one thing:

Are you trying to connect with people, or impress them?

The best tequila experiences feel generous. They feel inclusive. They leave room for other people to have their own opinions and preferences.

When tequila becomes less about showing off knowledge and more about creating experiences together, people open up. They ask questions. They try new things. They relax.

And suddenly tequila becomes what it’s supposed to be in the first place:

Something that brings people together.